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2.3 Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in dealing

with others
Dealing with others
It doesnt matter how large or small your workforce is, it will inevitably contain a
plethora of personalities with unique capabilities, needs and possibly emotional
limitations and abilities. As a manager it is your responsibility not only to
manage their workload, but also all the human aspects that occur on a daily
basis. Dependent on the nature of your workforce and industry the matters
that arise may range from basic frustration with broken equipment to full scale
trauma as a result of a serious incident in the workplace. Whatever arises, the
way in which you deal with the people involved will have a significant impact on
the outcome of the incident.
Matters that arise may include:
f Complaints about from workers about co-workers such as time wasting
f Incorrect wages
f Mistakes in the rota
f Holidays and time off
f Disputes between colleagues
f Disciplinary conversations/actions
f Personal issues affecting work
f Unforeseen circumstances
f Angry customers/colleagues.
The important thing to remember when dealing with others is to treat them
as individuals. Knowing your team will enable you to do this with much more
accuracy and will also make them feel valued. Each member of your team will
have their own emotional needs and level of emotional intelligence. You will
have to adapt a number of things in your approach to ensure you deal with the
situation on their level.
You will need to demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in the following areas:
f Vocabulary the words you use must be understood by the individual
f Tone you may need to adopt an empathic approach or the situation may
require assertiveness
f Time some people will be quick and simple to deal with whilst others will
be much more demanding of your time. You need to remain in control of the
situation but gauge how much time should be spent with one individual if
progress is not being made
f Solutions you may have to be creative with the possible solutions you offer
and you should also remember that one size will not fit all; as with time,
some individuals will be more difficult to please
f Your own capabilities you should also know when you have exhausted your
own abilities to deal with an individual and be able to recognise when the
situation requires escalation to the next level of authority or expertise.

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Leadership styles
As a manager you probably have a preferred leadership style and this may work
most of the time, but it is important to vary your approach when necessary.
Daniel Golemans book, Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence, first
published in 2002, states that the most successful leadership is that of managing
the emotions of their team in order to keep motivation and morale high. The better
a leader understands the members of their team, the more successful they can be
in stimulating and maintaining motivation to achieve the desired goals. But not all
people can be managed in the same way.
The six leadership styles Goleman identified are:
f The visionary leader this style of leadership sets out a vision or an ideal
and shares it with the team, guiding and supporting, but not directing team
members in a specific direction. It is often used when a new direction is needed
and there is no clear path yet forged. It is often more successful with young
and inexperienced individuals than with seasoned workers resistant to change
f The coaching leader this is a much more personalised approach to
leadership in which much time is invested in long conversations with individual
workers in order to link the goals of the organisation with the individuals
personal goals and career aspirations. For individuals who already know what
they want, are already doing it, and are self-motivated, this style of leadership
can be over bearing and can seem like micro-management
f The affiliative leader this style of leadership places the importance on the
emotional needs of the workforce over work and organisational needs and
this sort of leader wants to retain harmony amongst the whole workforce at
all costs. It can be quite destructive if the workforce take advantage of the
kindness and compassion afforded to them and it can also be regarded as
sweeping issues under the carpet in order to appease the emotions of the staff
f The democratic leader this is a collaborative approach in which management
seeks the input of their workforce for decision-making processes. It is an
effective way of gaining support from the workforce as it allows them to
take ownership of the goals, but it can also be regarded as management not
knowing what they are doing
f The pace-setting leader this approach is to lead by example. A pace-setting
leader will often bring in new and exciting challenges, demonstrating their
own ability and excellence, and expecting the same from everyone else.
If a situation needs rescuing they will often wade in and resolve matters
themselves. Very little guidance is offered to the workforce and they are
expected to know what to do and get it done. It works best with an experienced
and able team who are highly motivated
f The commanding leader perhaps the most traditional style of leadership, the
commanding leader issues clear instructions with no room for manoeuvre that
they expect will be completed without any questions asked. It is as far from
democratic as possible. This type of leader has a powerful presence and can
often be seen as cold and aloof. This style works best in a crisis when results
or changes are needed immediately and a floundering team needs clear
guidance.
Our personalities lend us to a specific style of leadership but a good manager
should employ a combination of all styles to suit the occasion and the people with
whom they deal.
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Activity 2.3

1. When dealing with people in your organisation, what matters might arise?

2. Describe a situation concerning a member of your team with which you had
to deal. How did you have to adapt your normal approach to deal with it and
what was the outcome?

3. Identify the six styles of leadership and your preferred style.

4. Describe a situation where you have used each style of leadership.

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2.4 Take into account the emotions of others when

making decisions
Emotional intelligence gives you the ability to show empathy and understanding
of other peoples feelings. When making decisions that concern or will affect the
emotions of your workforce, you need the ability to understand how they will feel
about the decisions you make and why they will feel that way.
This is a trait of the affiliative leader who desires harmony and collaboration
amongst every member of the workforce and could also be described as a
collectivist approach to leadership. In business, decision-making is often about
saving time and money and making improvements to existing processes and
procedures. It often does not concern the emotions of others. However, when
managing people, and making decisions that will affect them personally and
emotionally, the process is not as straightforward as rational thought.
When making decisions consideration should be given to the following:
f How the decision will affect individuals emotionally
f How it will affect individuals personally
f How it might affect people financially
f How it might affect people socially
f How it might affect their productivity
f How it might affect their mood in the workplace
f How it might affect your relationship with them
f How it might affect their relationship(s) with others
f Any effect it might have on the mental health of an individual
f Ramifications for the organisation
f Short-term effects on the individuals emotions
f Long-term effects on the individuals emotions.
Soliciting input from others in the decision making process
We have decided that it is important to consider the emotions of others in
decision making, but how are you going to get an accurate picture? You might
know your workforce incredibly well and can predict the effect a decision may
have on them, or they might be vocal about how they anticipate a decision will
impact upon their emotions. You also might have no idea.
As with the activity in chapter 1.5, you could request feedback from your
workforce to help you make a decision based upon their emotions. If the decision
affects just one individual, an informal conversation might suffice. If, however,
the decision affects a large group of people you might need a more formal
approach to obtain feedback, such as an open forum or an employee survey.
Whilst it is important to consider the emotions of others in making decisions it
is also important to remain objective and balanced in your considerations. It is
also vital that you do not avoid legal or ethical requirements when making your
decisions. For example, if an employee has stolen an item of another employees
property, you could not make a decision on how to handle it based upon the
emotions of the perpetrator. However, you could possibly make a decision on
how to handle it based upon the emotions of the victim.
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Activity 2.4

Describe a decision-making process you have undertaken that took into

account the emotions of others. What was the decision and how did it impact on
the individual concerned and the organisation?

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